Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Grizzlies Trade Rudy Gay to Raptors

In a deal that I honestly thought would never happen after the Grizzlies front office managed to get under the luxury tax threshold by dealing Marreese Speights, Rudy Gay has been traded. This is actually a pretty good trade for Memphis in that they get a tough defensive veteran in Prince who doesn't need the ball to be effective, while also adding a young PF who might allow the team to ship Zach Randolph elsewhere be it this season or the offseason, unloading that contract. As for the Raptors, not a HUGE fan but I understand what they are attempting to do in grabbing a name like Rudy Gay. The Pistons only make out here if they can resign Calderon, or he leads them to a playoff birth. Prince did have a pretty big contract though so unloaded those locked in years can't hurt if Calderon walks.

Toronto now boosts a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, and for now Amir Johnson and Aaron Gray until Andrea Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas return. I am not sure how the ball will be spread in Toronto but clearly all 3 guys have seen a decrease in fantasy value for the moment, but Rudy Gay should take the smallest hit followed by Lowry, with DeRozan seeing the largest decline, in my opinion. If Kyle Lowry continues to be a ball dominating PG than his value goes back to its regular pre season value while Rudy Gay and DeRozan take the hit. Gay is used to playing with a pass first guard in Mike Conley. DeRozan has been averaging 5.6 assists over his last 5 games and with Gay on the floor next to him he should be able to continue keeping that tally, especially with Calderon gone.

The Raptors at just 5.5 games out of the final playoff spot and adding Gay to their roster DOES make them better on paper. But trading Calderon & Davis is a big price tag if the team misses the playoffs.

I assume Detroit's starting five looks like Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Kyle Singler, Jason Maxiell and Greg Monroe. Clearly Kyle Singler is a must own now as he will see a huge boost in minutes while Monroe, Knight and Stuckey should all see a slight boost as they will attempt to take over as the leader of the team. Jose Calderon will most likely be the 6th man with PLENTY of playing time so his value should stay the same. Calderon will see starter minutes so either way his value stays the same. If Knight moves to the SG to start games, than Kyle Singler and Rodney Stuckey both see a slight decrease in fantasy value.

The Pistons are just 4.5 games out of the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Calderon is a great team leader and will keep the Pistons competitive until the final day of the season. Brandon Knight finally has a mentor, even if he cuts into his minutes slightly.